Reynolds Lake Oconee (Oconee)

The Reynolds Lake Oconee resort – originally known as Reynolds Plantation – lies to the east of Atlanta, within a massive ten thousand-acre property that once operated as an old family hunting and fishing retreat.

The Oconee River was dammed in 1978, forming an enormous man-made lake around which the Linger Longer development company was able to sell plots of land for housing before subsequently building six golf courses along the 90 miles of Lake Oconee shoreline.

The Landing and The Preserve were the first two Bob Cupp-designed 18-hole layouts to appear here in the late 1980s. Jack Nicklaus then built the Great Waters course in 1992 which was followed five years later by Tom Fazio’s 27-hole National layout.

Into the new millennium and Rees Jones added the Oconee course in 2001, around the same time that the 251-room Ritz-Carlton resort and spa opened for business. Finally, in 2007, Jim Engh fashioned the member-only Creek Club course.

Rees Jones returned to the Reynolds Lake Oconee resort in 2013 to significantly renovate the Oconee course, cutting back trees and re-laying all eighteen greens.

In Daniel Wexler’s The American Golf Resort Guide the author describes the Oconee course as “another strong test, with a front nine full of sound (if somewhat predictable) holes led by the 559-yard pond-guarded opener and the strong 435-yard 9th”.

He continues: “the back nine, however, offers somewhat more, beginning with the creek-menaced 363-yard 12th and the 231-yard 13th, a sandy one-shotter which is tough and not terribly inventive. But the real fun comes late (at) a pair of waterside finishers, the 546- yard 17th and 466-yard 18th.”